WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY NEWS archive: HAITI
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2006

U.N. peacekeepers accused of rape
December 17, 2006 – (The Washington Times) Reports that peacekeepers raped teenage girls have surfaced in Haiti, where a United Nations mission so far had avoided the sexual abuse scandals that have sullied the international organization's reputation in other parts of the world.

Haiti militiaman ordered to pay £10m for rapes
October 27, 2006 - (The Guardian) One of Haiti's most notorious paramilitary leaders has been ordered to pay $19m (£10m) in damages to three women who were gang-raped by members of his militia. Emmanuel "Toto" Constant, 49, was the leader of Fraph, one of Haiti's most ruthless rightwing paramilitary units, which pursued supporters of the deposed president Jean-Bertrand Aristide during the so-called reign of terror in the early 1990s.

Canadian troops in Haiti accused of making death, rape threats
September 2, 2006 – (Ottawa Citizen) Canadian troops and police with the United Nations in Haiti made death threats during house raids and made sexual threats against women while drunk and off-duty, according to Haitians interviewed as part of a meticulous human-rights survey by U.S. researchers in December 2005 published this week in the British medical journal The Lancet.

Hundreds of women victims of rape marched through the capital
September 1, 2006 - (KOFAVIV / AP) Despite the threat of violence amidst continuing arson attacks and gun battles in Port-au-Prince’s poorest neighborhoods, hundreds of women victims of rape marched through the capital today with faces veiled to raise their voices against ongoing violence and discrimination against women.

HAITI: STORM OF KILLING IN NEIGHBOURHOOD
August 3, 2006 (IPS) In this neighbourhood overlooking the placid bay of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, a ghostly silence wraps itself around the burned tin shacks, concrete hovels gutted and scorched black by flames, and jagged rocks that form the paths of the hillside slum, spattered with blood.

Donors pledge $750m aid to Haiti
July 26, 2006 – (BBC) International donors have pledged $750m (£407m) in aid to the Caribbean nation of Haiti in an effort to help economic recovery over the next year. The decision came after a one-day meeting of donors in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. The gathering included delegates from the World Bank, the European Union, and the Inter-American Development Bank.

Journée Internationale de la Femme - Haïti : Le PAM plaide en faveur d’une société équilibrée
8 mars 06 -(AlterPresse) Le représentant du Programme Alimentaire Mondial (PAM) en Haïti, Mamadou Mbaye, plaide en faveur d’une société équilibrée qui tient compte de la participation des femmes dans les prises de décision.

Haiti: Secure and Credible Elections Crucial for Stability. International Community Must Pledge Sustained Involvement
February 6, 2006– (Human Righs Watch Newsroom). The Haitian government and the United Nations mission in Haiti must ensure that the long-awaited elections pave the way for political stability, Human Rights Watch said today.

Appointment of UN Refugee Agency Staff to Haiti Vital First Step; International Community Must do More to Address Violence in Haiti
January 5, 2006—The Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children applauds the UN refugeeagency’s appointment of a staff member to monitor conditions in Haiti prior to and during the presidential elections.This is an important step towards increasing protection for women and children refugees in the region.

Haiti’s Elections: Right Result for the Wrong Reason
February 17, 2006. -(Americas Program, International Relations Center (IRC). On February 7, Haitian voters went to the polls to elect a president for the fourth time since 1990. Through great patience and determination they overcame official disorganization, incompetence, and discrimination, and handed their chosen candidate a landslide victory.

Haiti gives Aristide ally a second chance
February 14, 2006 - (Christian Monitor) Nearly a week after elections in Haiti, with the final votes still being counted, René Préval, a mild-mannered former president, was leading 33 candidates with 48.7 percent of the votes - a clear victory, but not the 50 percent needed to avoid a March 19 runoff.As news of the outcome spread, thousands of Préval supporters took to the streets in the capital pounding drums, erecting roadblocks, and calling for a recount. They claim tens of thousands of Préval ballots had been invalidated so as to deny the candidate an outright win.

2005

Tiny Aid Group Rescues Mothers in Haitian Village
June 16, 2005 - (WOMENSENEWS) Haiti, the poorest country in the western hemisphere, has health, education, and mortality statistics rivaling those of countries in sub-Saharan Africa. But in the village of Jacquesyl on Haiti's northeast coast, a happier story is unfolding. While its residents are very poor, they're better off than many of Haiti's 8 million people, thanks to a partnership with Marycare, Inc., a small woman-to-woman nonprofit based in New Haven, Conn.

Haiti: UN Civilian Police Require Executive Authority
March 14, 2005 - (Refugees International, Bulletin) The UN peace operation in Haiti, MINUSTAH, faces serious obstacles in restoring the rule of law. While armed gangs pose a threat to peace, misconduct by the Haitian National Police (HNP) has combined with a lack of capacity to create a policing gap in Haiti. The UN Civilian Police (CIVPOL) cannot address this problem until their mandate is amended to allow them to do more than mentor and advise. This Bulletin is based on research undertaken during a two-week assessment mission to Haiti by Sarah Martin and Peter Gantz.

La Journée Internationale de la femme célébrée sous le signe du désarmement aux Cayes Les Cayes
09 mars 2005 – (Communique de Presse de Minustah Nations Unies) Le bureau régional de l’Unité de Désarmement, de Démobilisation et de Réinsertion (DDR) de la Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH) aux Cayes a organisé, le 8 mars, en collaboration avec l'organisation « Kowòdinasyon Solidarite Fanm Depatman Sid » (KOSOFADS), une marche à l'occasion de la Journée Internationale de la Femme. Cette manifestation a regroupé environ 400 femmes, qui ont sillonné la ville pour lancer un appel contre la violence et pour la paix en Haïti.

Gonaïves Women Celebrate International Women Day
March 8, 2005 – (MINUSTAH Press Release) About 60 women gathered this morning in the center of Gonaïves to celebrate the International Women Day. They formed a joyful parade, like a street carnival, and chanted slogans and danced in the streets for more than two hours. In the front line some of them carried a bouquet of plastic flowers.

Sexual Exploitation by Peacekeepers Likely to be a Problem
March 7, 2005 - (Refugees International) On Friday, February 18, a radio station in Gonaives, Haiti claimed that three members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Haiti, MINUSTAH, had raped a young Haitian woman. By February 19, MINUSTAH had sent an investigator to Gonas to investigate

Elections in Haiti: the Special Representative meets with women from political parties Port-au-Prince
February 28, 2005 - (MINUSTAH UN Press Release) The Special Representative to the Secretary General and Chief of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Ambassador Juan Gabriel Valdes, met with the Haitian women – leaders and members of political parties – in order to “discuss and review the support they will need from MINUSTAH on issues concerning elections.”

STATEMENTS TO COMMISSION FOR SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
February 15, 2005 -(Newswire) The Commission on Social Development met today, in two meetings, to conclude its review of relevant United Nations plans and programmes of action pertaining to the situation of social groups, and to embark on a review of its methods of work.

La MINUSTAH rencontre les ONG des Droits de l’Homme en Haïti
14 février 2005 - (Communique de Presse de la Minustah) Port-au-Prince - Le Représentant spécial adjoint principal du Secrétaire général des Nations Unies en Haïti, Hocine Medili, a, en compagnie du Commissaire de la Police civile de la Mission des Nations Unies pour la Stabilisation en Haïti (MINUSTAH), David Beer, du Chef de la composante des Droits de l’Homme de la MINUSTAH, Thierry Fagart, rencontré, le 14 février à Port-au-Prince, les responsables des Organisations Non Gouvernementales (ONG) des droits de l’homme en Haïti.

Courageous Haitian women bring civil suit for torture
January 18, 2005 - (Information Clearning House) Emmanuel "Toto" Constant was served with a lawsuit today that accuses him of responsibility for torture, crimes against humanity and the systematic use of violence against women, including rape, during the country's brutal military regime in the early 1990s. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of several women who survived savage gang rapes and other forms of extreme violence, including attempted murder.

 

2004

Alarming increase in the number of rapes
November 25, 2004 - (Haiti Support Group press release) The Haiti Support Group is extremely concerned about the reported increase in the number of rapes in Haiti over recent months, and calls for action to be taken to protect women and girls from sexual attacks carried out by armed men.

One Woman at a Time
October 2004 - (Ms. Magazine) Ercia Guillaume is lucky. A maid for a Haitian businessman in the city of Les Cayes, she enjoys “luxuries” few Haitians encounter: daily food, a steady income, 24-hour electricity (via her employer’s generator), a safe place to sleep. She has also been spared the brutal act women have faced throughout Haiti’s history of turmoil: rape.

HAITIANS DISPLACED BY POLITICAL REPRISALS
August 6, 2004 - (Refugees International) Political violence and a culture of reprisals have forced the internal displacement of politically active members of Haitian society. Haitians fleeing persecution must hide in their own country because the U.S. and the Dominican Republic are making it difficult for them to receive asylum, or even protection.

ORPHANED GIRLS PAY PRICE FOR HAITI'S POLITICAL STRIFE
July 29, 2004 - (USA TODAY) An orphanage in the slums of Haiti's capital shows how little has changed here in the five months since a violent mob moved on Port-au-Prince and forced the country's president to leave in February.

UNIFEM JOINS UN ASSESSMENT MISSION TO HAITI
May/June 2004 – (UNIFEM) UNIFEM's Regional Peace and Security Adviser and a gender adviser from the Department of Peacekeeping Operations (DPKO) participated in the UN assessment mission to Haiti to prepare recommendations for the upcoming peacekeeping operations in the country. While in Haiti, the team met with local women's organizations in order to reflect their concerns and priorities. The women expressed four main areas of concern. First, levels of gender-based violence, already high before the widespread unrest of the past year, have been exacerbated by pervasive insecurity and small arms proliferation. Second, there is a need for greater economic security and justice for women, with an emphasis on humanitarian assistance and job creation. Third, increased support and resources for women's organizations to consolidate peace and participate in the peace process. Finally, Haitian women emphasized the importance of adequate female representation in all political bodies in order to ensure good governance.

STREET CHILDREN, GIRL SERVANTS SEVERELY AFFECTED BY HAITIAN VIOLENCE – UNICEF
April 19, 2004 – (UN News) The violence that brought about the change of Haiti’s government earlier this year has had a severe impact on the 2,000 street children in the capital, Port-au-Prince, and on the 120,000 girls who work as domestic servants across the country, according to a United Nations Children’s Fund ( UNICEF ) assessment mission.

UN SPECIAL ADVISER AND ASSESSMENT MISSION CHIEF MEET OFFICIALS
March 19, 2004 – (UN) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan's Special Adviser on Haiti and the head of the UN assessment mission today continued their round of meetings to gather information on the situation in the Caribbean country after the departure of one president and the swearing-in of a new interim president, prime minister and cabinet.

UNICEF AIRLIFTS EMERGENCY SUPPLIES TO HAITI
March 3, 2004 – (UN News Service) A United Nations airlift of emergency supplies arrived today in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, as the city resumed some of its normal activities despite pockets of insecurity.

ANNAN URGES INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY TO STAY FOR LONG HAUL IN HAITI
March 2, 2004 – (UN News Service) United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan appealed today to the international community to keep its focus on helping the people of Haiti.

 

2003

RURAL HAITIANS ARE VANGUARD IN AIDS BATTLE
November 30, 2003 – (NYT) In the cool mist of daybreak, hundreds of villagers fanned out across the forsaken reaches of this nation's remote interior, fording rivers swollen by torrential rains, slogging through muddy cornfields and clambering up slippery mountainsides to reach people sickened by AIDS.

RIGHTS ACTIVISTS ATTACKED
October 30, 2003 – (Scotsman.com) Around 30 stone-throwing supporters of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide dispersed a group of women’s rights activists staging a sit-in in Haiti’s capital Port-Au-Prince to protest violence against women.

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT AND HAITIAN WOMEN
October 27, 2003 -(HAITI REBORN) In addition to playing a vital role in Haiti’s struggle for political change and democracy, Haitian women have long been the potomitan -- the centerpost, of the Haitian economy. 55% of Haiti’s work force is made up of women. In the assembly sector industries and the commercial sector, 70% of the workers are women, while 49% of all agricultural workers are women. And, without the Madan Sara -- women merchants, commerce would collapse in Haiti.

HAITIAN POLICE IGNORE PROSECUTOR'S ORDER TO RELEASE WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST
March 12, 2003 - (AP) A top prosecutor has ordered Haiti’s police to free a prominent women’s rights activist who was jailed along with her husband for allegedly possessing illegal weapons. But Carline Simon and her husband Serge remained in a police station Wednesday despite the lack of any formal charges against them, their lawyer Osner Fevry said. Police detained the two Sunday after allegedly finding an unlicensed automatic weapon in their car, police spokesman Jean-Dady Simeon said. Two days earlier, Carline Simon had led a group of 100 women in an anti-government protest march.

POLICE IN HAITI DETAIN WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST
March 10, 2003 - (AP) Police arrested a women’s rights activist three days after she led an anti-government demonstration, charging her and her husband with possessing illegal arms. Activist Carline Simone and her husband, Serge Simone, were arrested because illegal automatic weapons were found in their vehicle, police spokesman Jean-Dady Simeon said Monday. The two were detained by police Sunday afternoon in the seaside shantytown of La Saline, said Pierre Esperance, director of the National Coalition of Haitian Rights.

AMERICAN OFFICIALS LAUNCH BUSH'S AIIDS INTIATIVE IN HAITI
July 22, 2003 - (AP) Haiti has become the first country in the world to implement a program spearheaded by U.S. President George W. Bush to stem mother-to-child HIV/AIDS transmission.